1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to handheld firearms, i.e., rifles, pistols, shotguns, and the like, and more specifically to a carrier and dispenser for containing a series of ammunition magazines for such a firearm. The present magazine dispenser is worn upon the torso of the user, and delivers magazines sequentially in an orientation to facilitate their rapid retrieval and insertion in the firearm without undue searching, manipulation, and/or need to look away from the threat or target.
2. Description of the Related Art
Innumerable ammunition and magazine belts, pouches, vests, jackets, etc. have been developed in the past for the carriage of individual rounds and magazines (clips) for firearms. All of these devices have a common purpose, i.e., the temporary storage of ammunition either in the form of individual rounds or cartridges or contained in magazines or clips for placement in weapons configured to accept such magazines. In many instances, the ammunition is stored as individual rounds in a series of loops on a belt, bandolier or the like. While such individual round or cartridge storage systems may be used to store and dispense ammunition for weapons which also accept multiple cartridge magazines, the use of single round storage systems is not acceptable in most police and/or military combat situations due to the potential need for rapid and/or continuous fire. Accordingly, such single round ammunition storage and carriage devices are not considered to be particularly closely related to the present invention.
Insofar as the various magazine pouches and holders of the related art are concerned, such devices universally store perhaps only one or two magazines in each of a series of individual pouches or containers on or in a vest, belt, or other garment. A number of such devices are known to the present inventor and are discussed in detail further below. The problem with such devices is that they are incapable of rapidly delivering a series of magazines sequentially to the user on demand, with each of the magazines being properly oriented for rapid insertion into the firearm to minimize the time that the user is vulnerable. With such previously known magazine storage and carriage devices, the user can generally retrieve only one or two magazines from any single pouch or pocket, whereupon he or she must then locate another pouch or pocket containing full magazines. Moreover, such magazine storage pouches or pockets are generally configured for efficient storage space, rather than to orient the magazines to facilitate their rapid handling and insertion in the weapon.
The present invention responds to these problems by providing a multiple magazine carrier and dispenser for firearms, which contains a series of magazines placed sequentially in a relatively long holder or container which is carried about the torso of the user. The magazines are urged toward the dispensing end of the device by a spring within the dispenser, with each magazine being oriented to facilitate the rapid acquisition of the magazine and its insertion into the firearm without undue manipulation and lost time. The present magazine holder and dispenser thus saves considerable time when reloading as compared to other magazine holders of the related art in situations where a matter of a second or less may be of life and death importance.
A discussion of the related art of which the present inventor is aware, and its differences and distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 162,481 issued on Apr. 27, 1875 to James Lee, titled “Improvement In Cartridge-Boxes,” describes a belt and bandolier cartridge holder which may hold one or two cartridge boxes. However, the boxes are not magazines, as they cannot feed rounds directly into the firing chamber of a firearm. An alternative embodiment provides more tightly curved containers wrapped circumferentially about the base of the forestock of a firearm, adjacent the chamber. Again, this embodiment does not serve as a magazine or magazines as it only contains a number of individual rounds and does not feed them into the firing chamber of the weapon, as provided by magazines carried by the magazine carrier and dispenser of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,526,847 issued on Feb. 17, 1925 to Lewis Fritz, titled “Rifle,” describes a rifle having a stock with a series of separate pockets or receptacles therein. Each of the pockets may contain a single magazine therein. While it is convenient to carry the magazines integrally with the weapon, the problem here is that each magazine is stored and accessed in a separate pocket or receptacle, rather than being accessed from a common outlet or dispensing end of a single holder, as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,623,256 issued on Nov. 30, 1971 to Lewis D. Shiplee III, titled “Ammunition Magazine Holder,” describes an attachment which secures two magazines together in an opposed, laterally joined relationship. A user of the '256 holder withdraws the spent magazine from the weapon and flips the magazine and holder assembly over end for end to insert the opposed dispensing end of the second magazine into the weapon. The general concept of the '256 magazine holder is old, with two magazines being secured together in the past in a similar relationship using duct tape or the like. In any event, the '256 holder holds only two magazines together and cannot hold more than two magazines in identical orientations to facilitate rapid reloading of a weapon, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,041 issued on May 13, 1975 to Gordon G. Olson, titled “Ammunition Cartridge Dispenser,” describes a single magazine for holding a series of cartridges (e.g., shotgun shells) therein. A belt loop or clip extends from one side of the device to permit it to be carried on a belt or the like. No container or holder for carrying and dispensing a series of magazines, each magazine containing a series of cartridges or rounds therein, is disclosed by Olson.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,404 issued on Nov. 27, 1984 to David A. Johnson, titled “Spare Magazine Holder,” describes a magazine receptacle which is essentially permanently installed upon the weapon, e.g., an M-16 automatic rifle. The Johnson magazine holder or receptacle holds a magazine in the same orientation as when installed in the weapon, thereby facilitating access and installation of the second magazine. However, the Johnson magazine holder is incapable of holding more than a single magazine, thereby greatly limiting the potential firepower of a person using the Johnson device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,600 issued on Aug. 11, 1987 to Donald L. Reuschel, titled “Cartridge Carrier And Dispenser,” describes a narrow, elongate, arcuate, cylindrical device for holding and dispensing a series of individual cartridges, e.g., shotgun shells. The Reuschel dispenser is formed of a semi-rigid material, and is carried under the arm by an over-the-shoulder sling. The Reuschel cartridge carrier can carry only a series of individual rounds or shells; it is incapable of carrying a series of magazines each carrying a series of rounds therein, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,323 issued on Jan. 24, 1989 to Daniel D. Musgrave, titled “Magazine Carrier For Use On Firearms Or Other Support,” describes a housing or holder for a single magazine. The device includes a latch mechanism to hold the magazine therein, and a quick release mechanism for the latch. Musgrave states that the magazine is “in a correct orientation for insertion into a firearm” (abstract), but no firearm or other attachment is disclosed specifically to show the orientation of his magazine holder therewith. Also, while Musgrave states that his carrier may be used with a firearm or attached to some other support, he provides for the carriage or storage of only a single magazine therein, rather than a series of magazines, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,135 issued on Jul. 10, 1990 to Dennis C. Hall, titled “Cartridge Holder,” describes an elongate tube for the carriage of a plurality of rounds or cartridges therein in a sequential linear array. A single such device does not strictly comprise a magazine, as the device does not automatically feed rounds into the chamber of the firearm. While FIGS. 6 and 7 of the Hall disclosure show a cylindrical container or quiver for the carriage of multiple cartridge holders, the container does not hold a series of magazines nor does it provide for the proper orientation of the tubular cartridge holders for rapid loading into a weapon.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,565 issued on Jul. 7, 1992 to Kieran P. Grant, titled “Ammunition Dispensing Garment,” describes a hunting vest or the like having a series of open-ended cartridge or shell holding tubes disposed vertically thereon. The upper ends of the tubes are covered by openable flaps to allow for the insertion of cartridges into the tubes and to retain them in the tubes. The opposite bottom ends of the tubes each have a resilient retainer therein to hold the lowermost cartridge or shell within the tube until it is intentionally withdrawn. These tubes are not magazines, as they cannot feed cartridges or rounds directly into the chamber of a weapon. Moreover, Grant does not provide for the carriage of a series of such magazines, but only for the carriage of a series of individual rounds or cartridges.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,241 issued on Oct. 14, 1997 to Christophe Degoix et al., titled “Holder For Plural Ammunition Magazines,” describes an open top container for holding two magazines. The upper or discharge ends of the magazines are separated, either by spacing the two magazines apart from one another in a parallel array or by splaying the upper ends angularly apart from one another. This provides clearance for the unused magazine from the action of the weapon when one magazine is inserted into the weapon. The Degoix et al. magazine holder is thus more closely related to Shiplee III '256 U.S. Patent, discussed further above, than it is to the present invention with its stacked array of magazines in a single carrier and dispenser which is worn on the torso of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,589 issued on Dec. 14, 1999 to John M. Burdine, titled “Automatic Clip Holder,” describes a box-like structure having a magazine or clip insertion and dispensing slot or opening at one end, with springs disposed in the opposite end to urge the magazines or clips toward the dispensing end. The clips or magazines are oriented parallel to one another in the Burdine holder, but the Burdine holder includes a belt clip for hooking the holder to the belt of a user rather than being worn on the torso, as in the case of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,908 issued on Mar. 20, 2001 to J. Steven Groover, titled “Spare Magazine Carrier With Retractable Flap,” describes a single or dual magazine carrier having an elastic member(s) in tension below the magazine(s). The elastic urges one of two flaps securing each magazine to a retracted position when not fastened. The device is adapted for carriage upon the belt of a user, rather than on the torso, as in the present invention. Also, it is noted that the present magazine carrier and dispenser is capable of carrying more than two magazines, and those magazines are dispensed sequentially rather than independently of one another, as in the Groover magazine carrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,327,805 issued on Dec. 11, 2001 to Norman E. Clifton, Jr., titled “Double Magazine Clamping Device,” describes a bracket or clamp and strap assembly which secures two magazines together in a spaced apart, parallel relationship. The result is much like that of the Degoix et al. '241 U.S. Patent, discussed further above, in which two magazines are carried in a common holder and spaced apart from one another to provide clearance from the action of the weapon for the unused magazine when one magazine is inserted in the weapon.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/200,693, published on Oct. 30, 2003, titled “Ambidextrous Reserve Magazine Holder For Firearm,” describes a rifle stock having a receptacle in the underside thereof for holding a single magazine therein. A retractable latch secures the magazine removably in the stock receptacle. The '693 rifle and stock more closely resemble the rifle with its multiple magazine receptacles formed in the stock disclosed in the '847 U.S. Patent to Fritz, discussed further above, than it does the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,668,479 issued on Dec. 30, 2003 to Roberto V. Obong, titled “Firearm Magazine Holder,” describes a multiple magazine holder in which the magazines are clamped or secured laterally beside one another, spaced apart in a fixed relationship. The Obong device is more closely related to the magazine holders of the Degoix et al. '241 and Clifton, Jr. '805 U.S. Patents, discussed further above, in that it holds two or more magazines in a fixed relationship with one another, with the entire device being supported by a single magazine inserted in the magazine receptacle of the firearm when the device is in use. In contrast, the present invention comprises a multiple magazine carrier and dispenser which holds a series of magazines but which permits their singular removal from the holder for installation in a firearm, with the magazine dispenser and magazines therein being physically separated from the firearm.
United Kingdom Patent No. 572,628, published Oct. 17, 1945, titled “Improvements In Or Relating To Machine Gun Cartridge Belts, Bandoliers And Similar Cartridge Carriers,” describes a disintegrating ammunition belt construction for securing a series of rounds or cartridges together primarily for use in automatic weapons. The belt is similar to others used in automatic weapons, in that the links securing the rounds together disassemble from the shells as the shells are drawn rearwardly by the bolt before being thrust into the firing chamber of the weapon during automatic firing. The device may also be used as an ammunition bandolier or belt, but has no relationship to the multiple magazine carrier and dispenser of the present invention.
Finally, United Kingdom Patent No. 1,079,193, published on Aug. 16, 1967, titled “An Ammunition Dispensing Carrier,” describes a magazine-like holder for a plurality of individual rounds or cartridges. The device is not strictly a magazine, as it has no means for securing into the magazine receptacle of a firearm. Rather, the device is adapted to dispense rounds or cartridges individually to the user, whereupon the user may insert the round(s) into the weapon.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a multiple magazine carrier and dispenser for firearms solving the aforementioned problems is desired.